History of the Basement

The basement of this building has seen its share of tenants. It is unclear what the basement was originally intended for, but our best guess is that it was used for storage purposes. Through the years, it has been home to a barbershop, many different fitness clubs, and even a practice studio for the local high school wrestling team.

This space is unique for Tifton as the city does not have many dry, functioning basements. With that in mind, we knew from the start that we wanted to make this space available to the public in some fashion.

Proposed Plans for Rehabilitation

Our plans for the basement have changed multiple times since our first vision for The Golden Exchange. Our first intentions were to lease and outfit the space for an upscale restaurant that gave the feeling of a speakeasy. We shared ideas with local restauranteurs and finally decided that maybe this type of restaurant wasn’t the best fit for the space after all.

Coffee Lounge

It wasn’t until recently that we knew the path of what this space needed. We decided that we could incorporate part of the space with the cafe on the first floor. Part of that process includes uncovering a cool hidden stairwell that gives access to the basement from the first floor. This space will be considered a “coffee lounge” to The Wild Goose Cafe. It will be a place to gather, but not in the usual restaurant setting over a meal. This lounge will be tailored more specifically to sharing coffee with friends, co-workers, or even be an ideal place to work independently.

Yoga Studio

Meanwhile, as we were still entertaining different ideas with restaurant owners, we were approached by someone with a different vision for the basement. When the upscale restaurant vision was no longer in the picture, we decided to consider the proposal of this emerging opportunity for Tifton. Tifton native, Sarah Herring, shared her dream for a yoga and wellness studio and it felt like the perfect fit. Since then, Tifton Yoga was created and is beginning classes at another location until we have completed rehabilitation on The Golden Exchange. We are excited about this partnership and think the vision, goals, and atmosphere would be a great match for The Golden Exchange. We hope to also be able to utilize the rooftop space for outdoor classes!

You can find out about current classes and information at tiftonyoga.com. Be sure to follow Tifton Yoga on Facebook and Instagram!

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Here are a few photos that we have collected for inspiration of the basement:

Changes Continuous with Other Floors

The basement will see a few similar updates that are in conjuction with the other floors of the building. The new and improved elevators will service each floor, including the basement and rooftop. When available, the rooftop will be accessable for the cafe patrons as well as opportunities for outdoor yoga classes.

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Enjoy a look at the proposed basement plans!

Want to see more of these spaces? Checkout this video of the pre-construction walkthrough.

Click to view specific plans for each floor:

First Floor

Second Floor

Third Floor